Christmas bells

Sunday

Even if you’re unfamiliar with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, you know his poetry.

“Listen my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,” is the opening line of his American opus, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” published on the eve of the Civil War.

“Beneath the spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands,” is another poem, illuminating American themes of hard work and dedication to family.

With its playful lyricism, “The Village Blacksmith” became a favorite of children, who were among Longfellow’s biggest fans.

Almost 40 years after its publication, when disease and age felled the real-life tree that inspired the verse, the children of Cambridge, Mass., collected money to have the tree made into an armchair, and presented it to Longfellow.

Longfellow’s poems, along with his translations of Dante, made him world famous and wealthy. But his most poignant work, “Christmas Bells,” and the sad events that inspired this joyful verse, are rarely examined.

Several stanzas from “Christmas Bells” are the lyrics to the carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” a popular seasonal selection widely recorded by, among many others, Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley. The song also is a favorite of Bucks County’s Men of Harmony (the successor to the U.S. Steel Choir), who sing it each year, and at nearly every performance.

The poem arose from tragedy, of which Longfellow had more than his fair share.

His first wife, Mary, died in 1835 after miscarrying their child. He remarried in 1843. His daughter was just was 17 months old when she died after a brief illness in 1848.

His second wife, Frances, was killed in a fire in July 1861. How the fire began is unclear. Frances Longfellow was at home in Cambridge, placing locks of her children’s hair in envelopes, sealing each with wax. Either hot wax, the flame from a candle or a match accidentally set her dress on fire.

Henry Longfellow rushed into the room and attempted to douse the flames with a throw rug. When he couldn’t, he wrapped his arms around her, using his body to smother the fire.

Frances Longfellow lingered until the next morning. Longfellow was so badly burned that his injuries prevented him from attending her funeral.

The fire had disfigured his face. To disguise the scars, he grew a long beard, which became his trademark.

Longfellow, a dedicated journal keeper, wrote on the first Christmas after his wife’s death, “How inexpressibly sad are all holidays.”

On the first anniversary of his wife’s death, he wrote, “I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday, God will give me peace.”

His journal entry for Dec. 25, 1862: “’A merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.”

At Christmas 1863, he was notified that his son, Charles, a Union Army lieutenant, had been shot in battle and badly wounded. Longfellow’s journal for Dec. 25 of that year is blank.

Deeply depressed, he turned to laudanum, an opiate.

He told friends that, at times, he felt like he was losing his mind. He pleaded not to be sent to an asylum. He confided that he felt as if he was “inwardly bleeding to death.”

But on Christmas Day 1864, something marvelous happened. He awoke and opened the windows of his room and, from across the Charles River, he heard bells pealing. The sound delighted, and inspired him to sit and write the first lines of the poem:

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet, The words repeat, Of peace on Earth, good will toward men.”

Two more stanzas followed: “And in despair I bowed my head; There is no peace on earth, I said; For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men!’ Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: ‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men.”

The poem struggles between joy and despair, belief and not believing, the spirit of Christmas and the darkness of the dispiriting world.

For Longfellow, Christmas won.

J.D. Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or atjmullane@phillyburbs.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Follow Us

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Burlington County Times ~ 116 Burrs Rd., Suite B, Westampton, NJ 08060 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service